1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for arranging randomly positioned articles into preselected positions, and more particularly to a system for arranging a twisted-pair bundle of randomly positioned wires (e.g., a cable) into preselected wiring positions and connecting the wires to respective electrical contacts of an electrical device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the manufacture of electrical wired equipment, it frequently is necessary to connect a plurality of wires which are in random unknown positions, to preselected terminals on an electrical device. This requires that an operator manually sort the randomly positioned wires and arrange them into their proper wiring positions, a procedure which is relatively time consuming, laborious and frequently subject to human error, particularly where a large number of wires are involved.
By way of illustration, in the manufacture of PBX cable and other similar type cable formed of twisted wire pairs, it is standard practice to attach a connector plug of the type having rows of terminals on its opposite sides, to one or both ends of a sheathed cable having an irregular periphery. As an initial step in this operation, the cable generally is manually cut into preselected lengths from a continuous supply. Sheath or jacket portions then are removed from the opposite ends of each cable length with a manual cutting tool, a step which may cause damage to the insulated wires of the cable as a result of the cutting tool nicking or cutting completely through the wire insulation. An operator then sorts the color coded desheathed wire portions at one end of the cable length as to their positions on the connector plug, untwists the wire pairs and places the wire portions for the one side of the plug in their proper respective positions in a soldering apparatus, which may be a manual type fixture, or semi-automatic apparatus as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,110,083, issued Nov. 12, 1963 to R. M. Stine et al., or the U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,608, issued January 25, 1966 to G. P. Adams et al. In the alternative, the wires may be positioned in an apparatus for assembling the wires into a solderless-type connector plug, as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,802, issued Feb. 11, 1975 to J. J. Tucci.
In the soldering apparatus, the wire portions are cut to length (if necessary), insulation adjacent the ends of the wire portions is stripped therefrom, and the stripped wire end portions are positioned in their respective terminals in the connector plug and soldered to the terminals. To connect the other desheathed wire portions to the opposite side of the plug, the cable and the connector plug are inverted, the wire portions are placed in their proper respective positions in the soldering apparatus, and the same procedure is repeated for these wires. Where a cable connector plug is to be connected to the opposite end of the cable, the same procedure, including the manual sorting, is followed with the wires at that end of the cable. The same procedures, except for the insulation stripping and soldering steps, is required with the use of solderless-type connector plugs mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Apparatus for automatically fanning randomly positioned wires into a spaced, but still random relationship, is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,382,922, issued Aug. 14, 1945 to G. C. Spillman and the U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,901, issued Apr. 16, 1968 to E. P. Gurski et al. Prior known wire identification systems include the U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,405, issued Nov. 12, 1968 to F. T. Cyrsky, Jr. et al., which discloses apparatus for identifying colored wires electrooptically. Identifying the leading ends of wires manually, by completing electrical circuits through the wires to respective electrical reference points also is known, as is exemplified by the U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,685, issued Nov. 13, 1973 to J. V. Masi, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,888, issued Nov. 4, 1969 to A. W. Rollins et al., and the U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,026, issued Aug. 26, 1975 to S. Rogers et al.